Ask The Experts – Storing Gear In The Off-Season

We’ve got a panel of fly fishing experts that periodically answers your questions about anything remotely related to the world of fly fishing.

When we asked our expert panel “What are your tops tips for storing gear in the off-season?”, we got some really valuable insights. Not insights on storing gear so much – more insights on the common trait that makes them experts. Read on and you’ll see what we’re talking about.

Since the expert panel didn’t exactly answer the question as we expected, here are a few of our own tips for storing gear – if you’ve got an off-season.

Hang your waders to dry so they don’t get wrecked by mildew.

Clean and dry all your gear (rods and reels especially).

Loosen the drag on your reels.

If you’ve been fishing in saltwater, soak your reels overnight in warm fresh water before giving them a final rinse and drying them.

—

Dec Hogan is a legend in the Northwest. Among other things, he’s the author of A Passion for Steelhead, the definitive modern book on steelhead fishing.

“What is this off-season you speak of? Forgive me for I know not of what is this off-season.”

—

Charles St. Pierre runs Northwest Speycasting, the premier source for spey casting instruction in Puget Sound. Charles is also a long-time guest spey instructor during our king salmon season at Alaska West.

“There is no such thing as ‘storing gear’ or ‘off season’ in steelhead country. If you’re willing to travel and use your imagination within the tri-state area, you can mine for steel year-round in the Pacific Northwest.”

—

Michael White fishes his butt off. He also represents Simms Fishing Products and other quality brands to fly shops in the Southern Rockies.

Best guess is that Dec knows his rods pretty well – since he designed them! Agreed that fighting with the butt of your rod is always best…Dec knew he had a real little fish on in that shot and was just bringing it in quickly.